Ramp structure



April 1, 1930. IW.IF. GOODRICH- 1,753,115

RAMP STRUCTURE Filed March 5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

(Yaw i Mal/M ATTORNEY.

April 1930. v w. F. GOODRICH 1,753,115

RAMP STRUCTURE Filed March-5, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 1, 1930 WILLIAM F. GOODRIGI-I,

STATES or DETROIT, MICHIGAN RAMP STRUCTURE Application filed March 5,

This invention relates to the construction of ramps or roadways between the floors of buildings, for bridge and tunnel aporoaches, but especially between the floors of automobile garages, and its object is to provide a ramp structure which will permit automobiles to travel up or down between floors without the danger of meeting another, which will have separate entrances for up and down going vehicles, and which is particularly adapted for the. vehicle-storage floors of apartment houses.

The present concentration of population in the lar er cities has resulted in the erection 1 of apartment houses of many stories with a number of apartments on each floor. The demand for convenient storage of the automobiles of the tenants has resulted in plans for such structures which provide for the storage of these vehicles on the lower floors,

particularly as the upper floors are more desirable for residences, being more removed from the noise and dust of the streets. This concentration of population has practically forced independent storage garages to be located such distances from the apartment house districts that the provision of storage floors for these vehicles in the residence structures has practically become a necessity.

My present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and is specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1, is an illustrative view of my novel ramp structure- Fig. 2, is a horizontal section of this ramp structure taken about midway between the ground floor and the second floor. Fig. 3, is a plan thereof, on a smaller scale, taken at the second floor. Fig. 4, is a plan thereof also on this smaller scale, taken at the third floor.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to Fig. 1, this ramp structure is designed to be located some distance from a front or side wall of the building which is provided with three entrances, one opening 9 into the entrance driveway 1, a second into the exit driveway 2, and a third into the central passageway 3 for pedestrians. This passageway 3and the two spaces 4 and 5 connectw nay e and the two spaces a and a connect 192s. SerialNo. 259,065.

ed thereto may be the foyer of an apartment house and they connect to the circular space 6 in front of the elevators 7 which run to the upper floors, so that the tenants may pass directly between the elevators and the foyer. Doors 8 open from the foyer to the small platforms 9 in the driveways 1 and 2 so as to permit convenient unloading and loading of the vehicles. 1

In the present plan, the vehicles are intended totravel counter-clockwise around the elevator roup, but this may be reversed,if desired.

A ramp 11 curves up to the left from the driveway 1 to the level place 12 which is a part of the second floor 1.3, while a ramp 14 curves down from the level portion 15 of this second floor to the driveway 2. The inclination of these ramps is sufiicient to carry the vehicle the height of one floor while it travels onehalf way around the cylindrical wall 16. It will be noticed that the inner edge of the ramp 1% is in this wall 16 during the descent from the second to the first floor but that the inner edge of the ramp 11 is spaced from this wall. The reason is that these two ramps are in practically the same plane half way between these floors. The walls 17, 18 and 19 at the edges of these ramps preferably extend from floor to floor except where the ramps cross and will bereinforced and connected to the floors so that they can safely carry theramps.

Vehicles at 12 on the second floor may continue to ascend by way of the ramp 21 to the space 22 which is a part of the third floor and then by way of the ramp 23 to the fourth floor whose plan is the same as Fig. 3, while vehicles on thethird'floor may enter the ramp at the level space 24 and descend to thespace 15 at the second floor on the ramp 25, orcontinue on down to the first floor on the ramp 14. TheeXitof the up-coming vehicles at each floor is opposite the entrance for the downgoing vehicles so that there is no possibility of vehicles traveling in opposite directions meeting.

Vehicles can beta-ken from any floor to any other floor as may be: desired. I prefer to place posts 26 at the several openings and the usual fire-doors may be provided at the points 1';

usual lire-doors may be provided at the points it) indicated by dotted lines 27, if desired. The construction of the ramps forms no part of the present invention as any desired type of ramp construct-ion now in use may be employed, but the well known'reinforced concrete construction is preferred. The parts 1, 2,12 and 15 of Figs. 2 and 3 may also be considered as the landings of bridge or tunnel approaches, the ramps being well adapted for use in connection with bridges and tunnels. The details of construction and the curvatures of the ramps may be changed by architects to meet the building requirements with out departing from the spirit of myi-nvention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. A pair of ramps, comprising substantially continuously non-intersecting spirally arranged surfaces oppositely inclined and having spaced parallel axes within the curvaturesof the ramps.

2. A pair of ramps, comprising substantially continuously non-intersecting spirally arranged surfaces oppositely inclined and naving spaced parallel axes" within the curvatures of the ramps,-said ramps both having portions of their inner edges in the same cylindrical surface.

' 3. A pair of ramps com-prising substantially continuously non-intersecting spirally arranged surfaces having parallel axes and a cylinder extending vertically through said ramps and connecting to portions of the inner edges of said ramps, the remainders of said inner edges being spaced from said cylinder.

4. In a building, a series of floors and a pair of substantially spirally arranged and oppositely inclined ramps extending between said floors, the point where a ramp intersects a floor being on the opposite side or the prism occupied by the ramps from the point where the other ramp intersects the same floor.

5. In a building, a series of floors and a pair of inclined ramps connecting said floors, said ramps being symmetrically non-circular in plan and oppositely inclined, and having one axis in common.

6. In a building, a series of floors and a pair of inclined ramps connecting said floors,

said ramps being substantially ellipsoidal in plan and oppositely inclined, and having one axis in common, said ramps connecting to each of the floors at opposite sides of said common axis. i

7. In a building, a series of floors and a pair of'inclined ramps connecting said floors, said ramps being symmetrically non-circular in plan and oppositely inclined, and having one axis in common, said ramps passing each other in a plane substantially half way between any two connected floors.

WVILLIAM F. GOODRICH. 

